The Spanish Ceramic Tile Manufacturers Association (ASCER) has announced the six esteemed architects and interior designers who will serve on the jury for the 20th annual Tile of Spain Awards.
This year’s panel is led by Carlos Ferrater president of the Office of Architecture in Barcelona (OAB). Judging alongside Ferrater is Fermín Vazques, Director of b720, Jamie Sanahuja, Director of Sanahuja & Partners, Alicia Fernándes, Interior Designer at Alicia Fernández Interiorismo, José Ma Marzo Director of Tectónica and Ángel Pitarch President of the Colegio Territorial de Arquitectos de Castellón (CTAC).
About the Jury
Carlos Ferrater (OAB)
Carlos Ferrater is a world-renowned architect with a distinguished career spanning more than forty years. Upon graduating with a Ph.D. in architecture from the Escuela de Arquitectura de Barcelona in 1971, Ferrater found success as the lead architect of many high-profile projects including El Port, Guix de la Meda Home, the apartment block at Carrer Bertràn, Estartit Yacht Club and three blocks in the Barcelona Olympic Village.
In 2006, Ferrater established his own firm, OAB alongside Xavier Martí, Lucía Ferrater, Borja Ferrater and Núria Ayala. Ferrater and the OAB studio are great connoisseurs of Spanish ceramics. The firm’s projects have been highlighted in previous editions of the ASCER Ceramic Awards. The most notable is the Paseo de Poniente in Benidorm, where the use of circular ceramics and the use of color earned him the first prize in the architecture category in 2009. In the XVII, edition the project “House in Front of the Sea” by Xavier Martí and Lucía Ferrater won the highest honor in interior design and the “Hermanos Torres Kitchen” was also a finalist in the same category.
Fermín Vazques (b720)
In 1997, Fermín Vázquez founded b720 Arquitectos with Ana Bassat and has since served as the firms director. Vazques is the author of some of the most emblematic architectural projects built in Spain during his twenty years as an architect. His work has received numerous awards and has been the subject of international publications and exhibitions at institutions such as the Pompidou Center in Paris or the MOMA in New York.
Vázquez combines his professional practice with a passion for education. He has been a professor at the Barcelona School of Architecture, the School of Architecture and Landscape of Bordeaux, the European University of Madrid and has participated in lectures and conferences at universities and institutions around the world. He currently teaches at the IE school of Architecture in Madrid.
Jamie Sanahuja (Sanahuja & Partners)
Earning his Ph.D. in architecture Higher Technical School of Architecture (ETSA) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Jamie Sanahuja is a celebrated architect who has lent his credentials to remarkable projects around the world.
Sanahuja started his professional activity at the end of the 1980s in the city of Castellón, Spain. He is the director of the architecture studio Sanahuja & Partners, where he has led collaborations with Carlos Ferrater and ADI Arquitectura, and oversaw projects including, the Sant Joan de Déu Psychiatry Hospital and Multipurpose Center in, Barcelona, Spain, the Cajamar Office Headquarters in Castellón, the Mediterrània II Residential Complex in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and, finally, the recently completed headquarters of the Instituto Cervantes Library in Paris, France.
Like Fermín Vazques, Sanahuja pairs his professional accolades with his teaching work as an associate professor in the Department of Architectural Projects of the ETSA and his research work in Modern Spanish Architecture.
Alicia Fernándes (Alicia Fernández Interiorismo)
Alicia Fernández studied Art History at the University Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and was later trained as an interior designer at the IADE School, a laboratory of creativity, talent and leadership. Following her education, Fernándes has worked for both large corporations and private clients, primarily located in Barcelona, the Costa Brava, Madrid and the Philippines. Her work has been published in specialized interior design and lifestyle publications such as Arquitectura y Diseño, Interiors, El País and many more.
José Ma Marzo (Tectónica)
Tectónica is a Spanish-based magazine that disseminates information about architectural work understood in all its complexity. The publication covers both completed projects as well as the entire building process including blueprints, constructive details, building materials, and tools and machinery used. Founded in 1996 by José Ma Marzo, Tectónica was conceived on the notion of providing industry professionals with technical information on architecture and construction during a time where such information was scarce and difficult to obtain in Spain.
Now after 25 years in publication, Tectónica has become a valuable monograph on the field of architecture, serving the industry in its new format as a digital platform, Tectonica.Archi.
Ángel Pitarch (CTAC)
Ángel Pitarch received his Master’s in Conservation of Architectural Heritage from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and is currently President of the Territorial College of Architects of Castellón (CTAC) in Castellón, Spain. Pitarch has an acclaimed career that integrates his education in architecture with his interest in teaching the subject, starting as a professor at the Polytechnic University of Valencia during the academic 2000/2001. He currently teaches Technical Architecture and the Master of Energy Efficiency and Sustainability at the Universitat Jaume I (UJI). Pitarch is also the director of UJI’s Ceramic Classroom and Chair of Circular Architecture. When he’s not in the classroom, Pitarch spends his time researching, with a specialized focus on ceramic cladding materials, sustainable binders and architectural heritage.
The 20th edition of the Tile of Spain Awards is now open and entries can be submitted at www.tileofspainawards.com now through October 28th, in any of its three categories.
The 2021 edition of the awards is sponsored by Endesa, the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), and Port Valencia.
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